


Archery Practice

by sacredsymbol821



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Family Bonding, Other, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-26
Updated: 2016-05-26
Packaged: 2018-07-10 07:33:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6973294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sacredsymbol821/pseuds/sacredsymbol821
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takumi and Keida shoot some arrows at targets on the practice field.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Archery Practice

Takumi watched as Keida drew the bow she was holding and held his breath like he would when he was about to shoot the Fujin Yumi. He heard the arrow fly through the air and faster than he could think, heard the thunk that signified that she had hit the target. He looked over to his right for a second, before his eyes widened in surprise.

On her first shot of the day, she had hit the target directly in the middle. Despite the familiar pang of jealousy that he felt whenever he watched Ryoma or Hinoka spar with others, he also felt proud of her progress as well.

“I didn’t think I’d hit it.” Keida told him, looking at him expectantly.

“What do you mean, Sister? Your form was almost perfect!” Takumi exclaimed, the words falling from his mouth faster than his brain could process. Keida’s expression changed from one of expectancy to one of wide eyed confusion.

“Keida, what’s going on?” Takumi asked her.

Then, she started laughing, a sound that rarely came from his sister’s mouth, which caused him to open his mouth in concern.

“No, I’m sorry. It’s just...Sakura was right, and I didn’t believe her.”

“About what?” He asked irritably, crossing his arms and turning his head away from her defiantly. 

“That you really are sweet once someone takes the time to get to know you.” 

The compliment hit him like a Kinshi midair, and his only response was to stare at her with his mouth agape. He felt heat flush to his cheeks and winced. 

“I am not sweet!” He stuttered in a desperate attempt to gain back some of his rapidly deteriorating pride back. It didn’t work, as a warm feeling started in his chest region and stayed there for a good while. Before he could wait for it to go away, she continued talking to him.

“She also told me you’re horrendous at taking compliments. I’m glad to see that’s true too.” She smiled at him innocently, and he could swear he was going to explode on the spot.

“Okay, okay I’ll stop.” She told him seriously,before putting the bow on her back as she waited for him to compose himself.

“The next time you compliment someone, can you make sure it’s not in the middle of a training session?” He replied, pursing his lips.

A light chuckle passed through her mouth.

“Okay, I’ll try to not throw wanton compliments in your direction. Don’t want you exploding on the spot you stand, Brother.” She told him casually, notching another arrow in her bow as she stood to shoot it.

“Thank you for being so considerate, Sister.” He told her sincerely.

There had been a time when the word sister had been spat, with bitterness and hatred, towards her. He had regret saying the word like that ever since, when she had worked to show them that she was working to end the war, just in a different way than he was. He bit his lip as he lifted the Fujin Yumi himself, acting like he was going to shoot the target in front of him, but he did not create an arrow. Instead, he turned his head to check his sister’s form. Her shoulders were up and tense, and her knees were bent slightly. She would be just fine if she ever decided to use it full time.

 _And, just like everyone else, surpass my skill._ The thought came out of nowhere, and he immediately felt rage at the unwelcome thought, along with the familiar cold feeling of jealousy that he was so accustomed to.

A lump formed in his throat as the wind suddenly kicked up. 

Keida swallowed, and let the arrow fly. This one was not like the first, as it landed on the right side of the circle.

Takumi smiled at her failure for a second, reveling in her frown when he saw her eyes water up in distress for a second, and his face fell.

“I forgot that wind existed. That was stupid of me.” She said casually, but her chin was downtrodden as she went to to retrieve the arrow. He watched carefully as she ripped it out the target with more force than was necessary, nearly ripping a very large hole in the colored cloth, and walked back to her position, before aiming at the target again.

However, she seemed very far away, as if she wasn’t actually looking at what she was aiming at.

“One missed arrow in an archery range won’t kill anyone, you know.” He told her softly.

She winced.

“The memory lapse that caused it can.” She snapped back at him as she took a step back and let the bow relax.

“I don’t know how you do it.” She continued.

“Do what?”

“Stay so focused even in the middle of a battle. You seem to know exactly where to hit the enemy in their weakest points, and when you miss, you shake it off until the battle ends.” She finished.

He gritted his teeth as he felt his face flush again.

How could she think so highly of him? All he had done was gotten jealous of her making one perfect shot at a target. 

_She doesn’t deserve a petty brother like me._

“I might look like I’m focused during battle, but I’m actually scared out of my mind.” He said quickly.

“What if I make a mistake? How will everyone see me? What if I hit one of you?” He added as he asked the air in front of him.

“I’m sorry for disappointing you.” He finished when she didn’t say anything for a very long time.

“You didn’t disappoint me, Takumi. I must admit I was a little jealous of the first time I saw you fight.” She smiled at him.

“You were jealous of me?” He asked incredulously.

“Yes, I was. I wanted to be able to put up that calm front when in battle, but I just couldn’t do it.” She answered, staring at the arrow in her hand, not able to meet his eyes.

“Well, I was jealous of you too. In the beginning.” Takumi admitted.

“Really? Why?” She snapped her head upwards so her eyes met his.

“You were so carefree and happy, despite the situation you were in.” He explained quickly. With every word he said, he felt his ears heat up as well.

“Is that really how I came across?” She yelped.

He nodded somberly.

“Gods above, no wonder you were so mean to me I must have seemed like a total dolt!” She continued, throwing up her hands in distress. The bow on her back slid off her shoulder and landed in the grass.

“I forgot I had it.” She sighed. He bit back a smile as he picked it up and offered it to her.

“Dropping your weapon like that on the battlefield can get you killed.” He told her half seriously. She glared at him before grabbing the bow out of his hands.

“I’ll try to keep that in mind.” She responded in kind.

Carefully, she took aim and fired as the wind kicked up again. This time, she hit near the middle, but not the bullseye.

“This wind is a pain in my ass!”

Despite the severity of the situation, Takumi started laughing.

“Complaining about it isn’t going to help matters!” He reminded her.

“I’m glad you find this so funny, Expert Archer. I’d tell you to try, but we’ve already established you’re the best archer in camp.”

Takumi was able to ignore the compliment this time with barely a shake of his head, and instead stood closer to her.

“How about you aim a little more to the left? Might help you hit the middle this time.” He suggested. She nodded at him and waited for the wind to kick up again, even though it would have been much easier to hit the target while the wind was still. 

When the wind finally obliged, she took aim at the target and quickly fired before it could die down again. He watched the arrow fly through the air and held his breath as he watched it’s flight path- right into the bullseye.

“Take that, you stupid wind!” Keida whooped and high fived Takumi before hugging him around the midsection, which caused him to freeze before he slowly put her hands around her to hug her back.

“Boy, you’re bright as a tomato.” She noted when she pulled away.

“That’s usually what happens when you assault someone in public!” He snapped at her.

“Since when is a hug considered an assault?!” She stepped back from him and stuck her tongue out at him.

“When you didn’t ask in the first place!” He answered back.

“Geez, you’re impossible! Lucky for you, I have to go now anyway!” She teased.

“Lucky me.” Takumi said loud enough for her to hear, and when she glared at him, he tilted his head and smiled at her.

“Where are you headed?” He asked belatedly.

“I’m going to go to the library before Leo gets there. He hates it when I arrive before him for some reason.” She answered.

“Do you mind if I walk you?” He asked.

“Not at all!” She told him and they fell into step together as they left the archery field.

**Author's Note:**

> So I wanted to write Takumi but had no where to write him in until this idea popped into my head. He became one of my favorites as I played the games, so hopefully I did his character some justice.


End file.
